


We Might Fit

by sunshineflying



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-31
Updated: 2013-10-31
Packaged: 2017-12-31 02:00:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1025963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunshineflying/pseuds/sunshineflying
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Louis sees photo after photo of Niall holding Theo, but Niall isn't supporting Theo's head in a single one. When he catches wind that Niall is babysitting Theo for the night - on his own - Louis has to step in, not just for Theo's safety, but for selfish reasons, too.</p>
            </blockquote>





	We Might Fit

**Author's Note:**

> Short, quick, and cute! :) Enjoy!

At first, Louis thought it was just some newborn-baby-nerves or something that prevented Niall from holding his little nephew Theo the right way. He tried, but he just didn’t quite cradle the head right and he looked nervous and uncomfortable. It was a wonder Theo didn’t cry just at Niall’s touch.

But then photo after photo found their way online and Louis spotted a common trend: Niall had absolutely no idea how to hold a baby. Poor little Theo’s head drooped precariously, and it drove Louis mad with nerves for him. If Niall kept up, he could hurt him.

On some time off between tours, Niall informed the guys that he’d be babysitting Theo so Greg and Denise could have a nice date to themselves. Denise was worried sick about leaving her little boy even just for a few hours, but Niall had reassured her that all would be fine. “I’m coming over,” Louis told Niall matter-of-factly, after he’d heard that Niall would be caring for Theo in his own flat.

Niall didn’t believe him, though.

The night started off easily enough. Around six thirty, Greg and Denise carried Theo upstairs in his little carrier, and he was squirming. Denise looked worried, but Niall said, “I’ve got this. He’s just hungry.”

She instructed him on how to warm up a bottle, how to change his nappy, and a dozen other things Niall wouldn’t need to know (but coincidentally, nothing he really _needed_ to know, like how to hold Theo properly). When Greg finally steered her out the door, they were almost late for their dinner reservation. Niall chuckled and shook his head as they left, and then he took the blankets off of Theo’s carrier. “Hey there, Theo!” he smiled.

Theo gazed up at his uncle curiously. He was in a new environment and all the sights and sounds had the boy in awe so much that he wasn’t fussing because he was hungry. Theo was patient, and he was calm. When the bottle was warmed up, Niall set it on the table next to the couch and then reached out to unbuckle Theo. He tried grabbing at him first from under his arms, but Theo’s head didn’t follow with his body. Niall bit his lip. Then he tried scooping behind his head, and with his other hand he scooped under Theo’s bum. He got him out of the carrier, but from there he didn’t know what to do because Theo was still facing him, not cradled in his arm, and he didn’t know how to get from point A to point B without hurting him. So, Niall set Theo back in his carrier again. He shifted and had his arm lying against Theo’s side, so he could just scoop him in towards himself, when someone barged right in and shouted, “Oh, for god’s sake, Niall!”

Niall froze and looked up. Apparently Louis _hadn’t_ been kidding, because he was standing there in plaid pants and a striped shirt, hair soft but disheveled like he’d had a lovely lie-in and then lounged about sipping tea all day after that. But Niall’s soft smile at the sight of Louis looking so relaxed didn’t last long. Instead, his cheeks reddened and he stepped back, biting his lip. “Sit down, mate,” Louis said, nodding towards the couch.

Niall did as Louis told him to, and then Louis scooped up Theo effortlessly, like he’d been around babies for year. He kind of had, truthfully, but sometimes that fact eluded Niall. Louis walked around to face Niall and he held Theo in his arms as he said sternly, “You’ve got to support his head and neck.”

“I do!” Niall protested. He wanted to believe that he was a wonderful uncle to Theo, but it didn’t sound like it from Louis’s comment.

“You don’t,” Louis sighed. He sat down next to Niall, Theo still in his arms, and he said, “I could show you at least half a dozen photos of you where you’re not. And not a single one where you _are_. You’ve got to hold him like this.”

Louis looked down in his arms where Theo rested calmly, his face tucked comfortingly into Louis’s soft cotton shirt. He cooed and Louis smiled. “I’m a good uncle,” Niall protested again, his voice weaker now.

“Nobody ever said you weren’t,” Louis shrugged. He glanced over at Niall and noticed that he’d probably taken the suggestion the wrong way; maybe he’d been insulted, even. Louis sighed and said, “Niall, you’re great with him, I never said you weren’t. It’s just… one wrong move and the way you’re holding him could result in a complete disaster.”

“You’re not helping,” Niall sighed. “I’m shit at taking care of him. I get it.”

“Oh shut up,” Louis snapped. “I bet if I put him in your arms right now he’d be just fine and you’d be doing everything right.”

Niall didn’t say anything. Part of Niall wondered if maybe Louis wasn’t even going to hand over Theo and let Niall do his part like he’d promised he would. Louis stood and looked down at Niall who was pouting pitifully, and he said, “Hold your arms like I’m doing.”

“I know how to do that,” Niall snapped.

Louis sighed. “I know you do. But… when there’s a baby in your arms you’ve got to hold your arms a bit further away from your body to keep the baby close to you. Give it a go,” he encouraged.

Niall did as he was told and Louis bent over, gently resting little Theo back in his uncle’s arms. “See?” Louis said. “Now his head is supported and he’s cozy against you. He’s ready for his bottle that you’ve prepared for him so go on then.”

Louis turned and sat next to Niall again as Niall grumbled something about how surprising it was that Louis hadn’t checked the temperature of the bottle, too. He frowned and said, “You know I wasn’t meaning to be rude, right?”

Niall nodded, never taking his eyes away from Theo as he fed him. Theo held the bottle in his small hands, but Niall didn’t let go of the bottom, just in case. Louis shifted a bit closer to both of them, his arm resting on the back of the sofa behind Niall’s shoulders. “I think you’re a wonderful uncle,” Louis continued. “You do everything right.”

“Except hold him,” Niall said, his voice sounding dejected and forlorn.

“You’re holding him correctly now,” Louis offered. Neither said a word and Louis said, “I just wanted to help. I know how much you love him and care about him.”

Niall nodded. He was crazy about his little nephew. Theo was adorable, and his smile was so precious, and he was one of the main reasons Niall looked forward to returning home now, along with seeing the rest of his family. Louis leaned his head against Niall’s and said, “I know it means you’ll be a great father one day, too.”

“Y-yeah?” Niall asked nervously. He’d heard people say that about Harry, or Louis, or any of the other lads, really, but never quite about him. Not in such a meaningful way.

“Yeah,” Louis said confidently. “All your kids will adore you. You’ll be great with them, I just know it.”

Niall felt better about everything now that he calmed down and realized that Louis was just trying to help. The compliments didn’t hurt, either. He smiled a little and asked, “D’you think about all of your best mates as dads?”

“No,” Louis said softly, a coy smile on his lips. “Just you.”

Confused, Niall turned to look at Louis. Their faces were incredibly close, and neither really realized until that moment. Their noses bumped and Niall could feel Louis’s breath coming out in hot, short puffs against his lips. If Niall had needed any clarification about what Louis meant, he got it in the form of Louis’s lips against his own. Chaste and delicate, Louis didn’t want to push boundaries with the kiss, but he wanted to let it be known what his meaning was, and to make it obvious to Niall, who could be oblivious at times.

When they parted, Niall bit his lip and just stared at Louis for a moment. He noted the nervousness and the unfamiliar shyness in Louis’s eyes, and to put Louis at ease, he leaned in one more time, releasing his lips from his teeth so he could press another gentle kiss to Louis’s lips. Now it was Louis’s time to be shocked, and Niall just smiled as Theo kicked and squirmed, an empty bottle lying on his stomach.

Louis watched patiently as Niall burped him and then put him down in his cradle for a nap. When he came back, he took a seat on the sofa where Louis had already made himself at home. There was a footy match now playing on the television, the volume soft so as to not wake Theo. Niall glanced over at Louis, who was curled up on the opposite end of the sofa, and he wondered what was next. Was their friendship ruined? Was their friendship now turning into something more?

Niall got his answer in the form of Louis crawling across the sofa and settling in comfortable across Niall’s lap, head on his shoulder and a smile on his face. Their hands met on Louis’s upper leg, fingers entwining like they’d done it a hundred times before, and they watched the game in peace, no words necessary.


End file.
